The Glitch in the System
by kairi's friend
Summary: Vanellope and Kairi keep having strange visions, and the surge protector locks himself away, trying to fix everything. Hannah wants to help them and Litwak – but her parents, who hate games, try to keep her from the arcade. But no one's prepared when Hannah and Vanellope switch places. Is this somehow tied to the glitch in the system?
1. The Businessman

**A/N: This is the sequel to "Connections." If you haven't read that story yet, you probably won't understand some things in this story. I recommend reading that one first. Though I'm continuing the story where "Connections" left off, there might be a few discontinuities, but I'll try my best to keep everything tied together. But I also hold the right to change things as needed in this story.**

******For those who don't know (or forgot), I will be playing the "phrase game" in this story. I basically hide a phrase relating to something or someone famous and put it in the chapter for people to find. I give hints, don't worry, which will come at the end of the chapter, and the answer will come in the next chapter.**

**And I'm saving all disclaimers until the credits chapter, but you should know who owns what. But I will claim Hannah's name, her parents, Litwak's first name, and all OCs. And the archiving code is mine. If you want to use it, ask me first. ****Oh, and an "arcadian" is someone who lives inside the arcade.**

* * *

Hannah pedals harder, hoping to get to Litwak's Family Fun Center before it opens for the day. She rounds a corner and sees the arcade up ahead - with a black car in the parking lot parked far away from the other cars. A black car? Mr. Litwak doesn't own a black car, neither do any of the employees. And it's too early for any customers to be here. Why is that car farther away than the others? A game's not being taken away, is it? The thought makes her pedal even harder, screeching loudly to a stop at the bike rack. She nearly drops her bike lock as she rushes to take it out and lock up her bike, but finally it's done, and she hurries to the glass door, cups her hands around her eyes to see better inside. All the games are where they should be. So if the black car's not here for a game, then why is it here?

Something moves out of the corner of her eye. Hannah looks over at the consoles for Sugar Rush. Where the logo should be on one of the consoles is instead Vanellope von Schweetz with her face up against the screen. Her hazel eyes light up when she sees Hannah, and she points towards Litwak's office. Hannah moves, trying to see in that direction. The racer hurries away from the screen and the logo for Sugar Rush appears again. Hannah can kind of see a door open and two figures walking out - one of them Mr. Litwak!

He smiles when he sees her and goes over to the door. "Hey, Hannah," he says when he opens the door. "Come on in. How long have you been here?"

"A few minutes," she says, stepping eagerly inside.

"Sorry about that. I was just talking to-"

"You're letting in a minor," the other person interrupts, "without any other adults around?" Hannah thinks this other person looks like a stereotypical businessman: pristine black suit, a few small wrinkles around his gray eyes, and smoothed-back dark hair graying on the sides. He bends closer to Hannah, inspecting her as if she were an insect. "Do you often come by yourself?"

Already she doesn't like this guy. "Yeah, I bike here straight from school on weekdays and first thing on Saturdays."

The businessman straightens and clicks his pen, scribbling something down in a notebook he's carrying. "Do you work here?"

Still doesn't like him. "No."

He jots something else down. "And do your parents know where you are?"

"Of course they do."

Another jot.

"Mister Litwak," one of the employees says, coming from the back room. "We fixed the problem with the oven in the kitchen."

"Good job, Jason," Litwak says. After the boy leaves, he turns to the businessman and says, "If that's all you came down here to do, you may go. I have some work to do before the customers arrive."

He and the businessman glare at each other before the latter says, "Very well. You'll be hearing from us shortly."

Hannah waits until the businessman strides out the door and is halfway to the black car before asking, "Who was that guy?"

"Oh, don't you worry about him, sweetheart," he tells her, hands on his hips as he stares out the window at the man. "He's just trying to scare us."

"So, he's not here to take any games away?"

"No, nothing like that. He just asked me some questions about the arcade, how it was running, how much money was I making. Though he did mention the 'glitch' from last month." Both of them remember how the "glitch" (which they found out later to be King Turbug) had stolen a racer during game hours and had almost put Sugar Rush out of order for good. Joe had come by the next day to take the game away, but he let them keep it. Mr. Litwak and Hannah had learned the truth about the "glitch" later that day, but they are the only two gamers who know what really happened that day. "Turns out," Litwak continues, "that the company that takes the games away is somehow connected to the company that makes the games."

"Really?"

"Yep. Oh, by the way," he says, shifting his weight and resting his hands on his hips, "your parents called me shortly before the businessman showed up."

Hannah grimaces. "They did?"

Litwak continues, "They said they want you home by dinner. There's something they want to talk to you about."

"It's not about me coming to the arcade, is it?"

Litwak gazes sadly at the teen. He knows how much she loves the games - but he also knows how her parents are. "They didn't say," he tells her. "Only that you had to be home by that time."

"Then you'll have to hurry up and play with us!" a familiar voice says.

Both gamers turn and smile at the Sugar Rush consoles, specifically the one without the logo. Hannah rushes over and slides into the seat. "Hi, guys!"

Everyone in the game grins back. "Hi, Hannah!"

"How was school this week?" Candy asks.

_Sometimes he acts like my dad_, Hannah thinks. But she replies, "Same as ever."

"Hey, Hannah!" Tori says, hopping up and down with excitement. "For the first time in forever, I came in first in the Random Roster Race!"

Hannah beams. Tori is the only racer who hadn't come in first place in the Roster Race before; all the others had gotten that achievement within the first seven years of the game. "Congrats, Tori!"

"We're all happy for her," Sticky says, hugging her recolor twin and giving a huge smile.

"Oh, and be careful of Cakeway," Taffyta says, playing with her lollipop. "Candlehead accidentally set off a few of the cherry bombs." Everyone stares at the suddenly-sheepish cake-themed racer.

"Thanks for that."

Litwak continues watching their conversation for a while. He's proud of Hannah breaking out of her shy shell - true, she's talking to arcadians, but at least she's talking to someone. After a minute, he turns and enters his office, his grin fading. Litwak didn't show it, but that meeting with the businessman kind of scared him. The visits are becoming more frequent, and it's always that same businessman. Nothing's going to happen to his arcade, is it?

And then the businessman had said that if any glitch of the sort were to happen again, his arcade could be shut down. What would happen to the arcadians then? He's not sure what will happen to them when the outlet extension is unplugged, but he doesn't want to find out.

Litwak plops into his swivel seat with a sigh. _If only my nana were here_, he thinks sadly. He rests his chin in one hand as he reaches out with the other and grabs the picture frame on his desk, bringing it closer to his face. It's a picture of him and his nana when the arcade first opened. Litwak couldn't look any happier, and his nana couldn't look any prouder. They hadn't had much money, but she had told him right before he put the keys in the keyhole that as long as she was alive, she would help him keep the arcade.

But this picture is more than thirty years old. Nana had died a couple decades ago, and the anniversary of her death is coming up. "What would she do now?" he wonders aloud.

* * *

Finally! The arcade opens! Hannah had already finished talking to all the arcadians and stepped back outside when a couple kids started showing up. They asked her if she got to be let in early, and she told them she just had to use the bathroom. She doesn't want herself - or Mr. Litwak - to get in trouble, so she waited outside with everyone. Litwak slyly winks at her as he opens the doors. She darts for Sugar Rush and puts in two coins eagerly, grabbing the wheel.

"Chews your racer!"

Usually, Hannah picks Vanellope, since she's her favorite racer, but right now, she chooses Tori, as a congratulatory gift. "Batter watch out!" the racer cheers, doing her signature pose of crossing her arms and tilting her head down with a mischievous look. The game starts as normal, and Hannah comes in second. Not bad, considering it was a close tie with Vanellope. Hannah goes from game to game, either beating them again or coming very close. (She's a very good player.) The last game for today is Hero's Duty, so she heads over there - only to stop short when she sees someone already there. Though he's not playing it, really, he's just standing there staring at the screen. Hannah carefully approaches him, and says, "Uh, hello, sir? Are you playing that?"

The old man turns to see her. "Oh, no, miss, I was just looking at..." His voice trails as he stares once more at the screen.

She gives the man a doubtful look. "Hey, if you're busy, I can come back later-"

"No, no, it's alright." He shakes his head clear and pulls his blue sweater around him tighter. "It's just that this game reminds me of...something from my old home."

"Oh." Hannah watches the demo that's playing on an endless loop. It is rather horrific and violent. "Was it some kind of war?" she blurts out. Immediately, she feels ashamed asking that.

The older man doesn't seem to notice, continues staring at the screen. "I promised them I'd find help. I left them all behind."

Hannah looks the guy over: on the shorter side, balding hair with a comb-over, wearing a blue sweater, gray shirt, dark blue pants, and black shoes. He's got black-framed glasses, and he seems to be in his sixties or seventies. _He doesn't seem like a soldier_, she thinks, _but you shouldn't judge on appearances, right?_ "I'm sorry about that, sir," she says.

"It's been many years," he mutters. "I wonder if..." He snaps back into reality again and looks at Hannah. "I'm sorry. You probably think I'm an old kook, right?"

"Um..." Is this the time to be honest or polite?

He just smiles and says, "It's alright. I don't think I could've helped going a little cuckoo. Amelia used to tell me so." His small smile disappears. "I miss her. She's been dead for a couple decades now."

"Hey! Look who's back!" Mr. Litwak says, coming up to the two, a big smile on his face.

The other man also lights up, and the two hug. "Larry! I haven't seen you in years!"

"You guys know each other?" Hannah asks, glancing from one old kook to the other.

Litwak explains, "We met before I opened my arcade, though we've lost touch over the past few years."

His friend frowns. "I meant to talk to you-"

"Don't worry about it. Just stay for a while and play some games. Hey!" he suddenly shouts, going over to the basketball dunking game where some of the kids are taking the balls out and throwing them around.

The old man chuckles. "If only Amelia could see him now."

Hannah makes a confused face. "Who's Amelia?"

"His nana. She used to get on Larry's case for..." His voice trails off, and he's staring at something. Hannah follows the path of his gaze until she sees... "Kingdom Hearts," the man breathes. "When did that get here?"

"Four or five months ago," Hannah says. "I remember it was such a popular game when it first came out. Still is kinda."

He mutters something under his breath.

"What was that, sir?"

He starts, as if forgetting for a moment that she was there. "I'm sorry," he says, heading for the door. "I have to go. Tell Litwak I'll be in touch with him!" Just like that, he leaves.

"Who was that old kook?" Hannah asks aloud to no one in particular. She shrugs and turns towards Hero's Duty - only to find the game bullies are already there. "Oh, great. Now, what am I supposed to do?"

* * *

The "old kook" paces at the bus stop. He's been watching the arcade - mainly the parking lot - for the past couple of months now, and he noticed the businessman was coming more often. Of course, he won't be allowed back at the company, but he had to know how far along they were in the "game timeline." He knew that they'd been planning for Kingdom Hearts to be one of the last games there, and when that blonde girl told him it had been there a few months, it nearly sent him into a panic. Time is running out. He has to do something, and do it soon.

_If only Amelia were still alive_, he thinks. Amelia was one of the first people he met when he came here. She'd known how to handle those people, and she would know what to do now. She never told Litwak anything while she was still alive - he's not even sure if he should tell Litwak everything yet. If he can just find a way to change the system...

He stops pacing, thinking about the blonde girl. He had walked by the arcade earlier and noticed she had been talking to a game - as if the people on the other side of the screen could hear her. She was so deep in conversation she never noticed him, but nevertheless he hurried away before the businessman or Litwak or anyone else could spot him. That scene plays over and over in his mind. _Does she know the truth, then?_ _Could she maybe help?_

The bus pulls up at that minute and opens the doors. He steps on and plops down in a seat near the front. _If that girl does know_, he thinks, _that those games are alive...maybe she can help after all._

**A/N: Hope you guys liked the first chapter!**

**Besides this story, I am working on other stories, too, and will not update as often as I'd like to. I will try to post a chapter a month, but it may take 4-8 weeks for me to post the next chapter. Sorry if you guys don't like waiting, but I want to make sure I have a chance to work on all my stories and take care of my busy schedule.**

**Second, I'm changing the hours of Litwak's Arcade for the story, only because I couldn't find a way to fit in the story with the hours it had already. So just assume that during the week, the arcade doesn't open until after school, like, say, 3ish and goes until later in the night, like around 10.**

**And now, to kick off the phrase game! For this chapter's phrase, the hint is: something relating to a song from Frozen. You can leave your guesses in comments, and I'll reveal the next chapter what the phrase was and who got it right. And if you have any suggestions for future phrases, let me know either by comment or PM. Good luck everyone!**

**Oh, and fun fact: this day last year, I posted "Connections." How about that? :)**


	2. The Vision

The businessman takes a deep breath and smooths his already-perfect suit before opening the door and striding in. "Boss," he says, "I have the report on the arcade."

The boss, in his tall, black leather, swivel chair, continues to stare out the glass wall at the twilit city. "Any news?" he asks in a deep voice.

"The old man insists there's nothing wrong with his arcade, though I questioned him thoroughly on the glitch from last month."

"Does he suspect anything out of the ordinary?" the boss asks, twirling around to see his employee.

"If he does, he hides it very well."

"And what about _him?_"

The businessman knows who "he" is. "I haven't seen him around the arcade in the past several months."

"Good." The boss leans forward, resting his elbows on the polished walnut desk and tapping his fingertips together. "But we're so close to the activation that we can't take any chances. Next time you see him, arrest him."

"But, sir," the employee says, a tad surprised at the sudden order, "he doesn't go by the arcade anymore, and he's never done anything to jeopardize-"

"I don't care if he spends all his time in a soup kitchen," the boss interrupts. "As long as he roams free, he is a liability. Arrest him."

"Fine. Though he's about as dangerous as that girl," the businessman mumbles under his breath.

"What girl?" The boss leans forward, obviously interested.

The employee curses in his mind. "Just a teenage girl Litwak lets in early, probably just an enthusiastic gamer."

The boss leans back in his chair, swivels around to stare out the glass windows again. "Keep an eye on the girl," he says. "As of now, she poses no threat, but I'd rather take no chances. We only have one shot of this working."

"...Yes, sir." The businessman nods his head and bows out. As he walks to the elevator, his mind is swarming with thoughts: the upcoming activation, the "old kook," Litwak, the girl, the games. He knows better than to question the boss - it was his idea after all to program the games the way they are, and this was his scheme from the very beginning. Still, the employee can't help but feel the boss is going a little too far. If the activation doesn't work, they could be responsible for tampering with the games and affecting someone's business, something they could be sued or arrested for. If the activation does work...

DING.

The elevator doors part, and the businessman steps in, punching a button. He sighs, rubbing a hand through his graying hair. If it does work, what then? Not even that old kook knows what is now on the other side. Guess they'll have to find out, won't they?

* * *

"Everything alright, Hannah?" Litwak asks, going over to the table that she's at.

She has a notebook and two different school books out. "I'm fine, Litwak," she says, not looking up from what she's writing. "I'm just working on homework while waiting for a turn at Hero's Duty."

Litwak looks over at said game - and moans and rolls his eyes. "Oh, great. _Those_ two again." He means the two boys that love hogging video games all to themselves. There are even a few kids standing around the console waiting for a turn.

"Yeah," Hannah deadpans. "Tammy told me earlier today, though, that if those guys ever come by her game, she was gonna make it super hard for them."

"Who's Tammy?"

"Sergeant Tammy Calhoun," she says matter-of-factly, checking something in one of her school books before scribbling something down in her notebook. "By the way, that old guy had to leave but he said he was gonna talk to you."

"I noticed he was gone." He rests his hands on his hips.

Hannah glances up from her homework. "Who was he?"

"He's my old friend, Stephen Sparks. He lived with me and my nana for a few years before he moved out. He was really into video games, too-" Litwak rubs the back of his neck, "-but after a while he stopped coming to the arcade, didn't return my calls, and I thought he was gone."

"I'm sorry about that, Mister Litwak." She scribbles faster. "And...I'm...almost...done!" She slams her books shut and tucks them back into her backpack. She hears something flop onto the table top and sits up to see it. It's a packet. "What this for?" she asks.

"That-" Litwak grins as he slides onto the bench across from her, "-is a job application. I figured you come here so often and you love the games as much as I do, if not more, and-"

"Wow!" Hannah's eyes are wide as she looks over the first page of the application. "I get to work here? Really?"

"Only if you fill out this application first."

"This is so cool!" It takes all of her willpower to keep from squealing in excitement.

Litwak grins - but it fades as he adds, "There's just one thing though. You need your parents' permission."

Her grin falters. "Why?"

"Because you're still a minor, and your parents need to be okay with this before you can start working here. 'Kay, sweetheart?"

There's only one problem: Hannah's parents don't like video games. Not even computer Solitaire or Wii Sports. They have already expressed their concern about Hannah spending too much time at the arcade instead of doing something "useful," like joining a boring debate club like her mother, or a stiff honor society like her father. And now they're calling Mr. Litwak about "the problem." They would certainly hate the idea of Hannah working at Litwak's arcade.

But she really wants this more than anything. Surely she can convince her parents otherwise. She nods at Litwak and says, "'Kay."

He pats her hand. "I know your parents won't be particularly thrilled, but it's for legal reasons only."

"I know." Hannah glances up at the clock. "I should probably head home now. Otherwise, I'll be late, and then they'll be in a bad mood, then there go my chances of working here." As she tucks the application carefully into her bag, she mumbles, "So much for playing Hero's Duty."

They both rise from the table. "Let me know how everything goes," Litwak says. "And if you need someone to back you up, feel free to call."

"Thanks." Putting on her jacket and grabbing her backpack, she waves goodbye to Litwak. She takes a deep breath as she mounts her bike. _Man, I hope this works_, she thinks as she rides down the twilit street to her house.

* * *

The pixel ball appears in front of the surge protector. He watches scene after scene of the events with the return of Turbo/Candy. In every single one, Turbo/Candy glitches red - but everyone he comes in contact with glitches blue. Why would Turbo be the only one to glitch red? Is it because he's evil?

Curious, the surge protector taps another light on the wire-walls of the archiving code. The image in the pixel ball flickers to another one: the day Turbo tried to take over Road Blasters. Surge watches as Turbo drives down the cord tunnel and into the game world. He calls out his catchphrase as he races back and forth in front of the gamers' red car. Turbo collides with the red car - and they both _glitch blue_.

Turbo glitching blue? How did he glitch blue? And when and why did he start glitching red?

As soon as this image finishes, other lights around the archiving code start beeping. The surge protector sighs anxiously. For about a month now, strange things have been happening in the archiving code. His beloved home is meant to record and remember everything that happens in the arcade: from characters, to games, to events. That way, he can go back and check them - like he is now - to prevent other problems from arising.

But last month, when Turbo/Candy was defeated for good, Kairi's light started blinking. At first, Surge thought it was about her and Sora talking about heroes, but then it showed a bizarre, and rather disconcerting, backstory memory. At least, it appeared under "Backstory" - but it included Vanellope and a cy-bug. After that "memory," other lights started blinking, and other "memories" arose.

"None of this makes any sense," the surge protector says, gripping what's left of his hair in his hands. He thought that maybe the return of Turbo had caused something to go wrong in his archiving code; after all, the "Turbo/Candy" light didn't appear until the real King Candy reset Sugar Rush and fixed his code box. And now that he knows Turbo used to glitch blue makes him wonder if something happened to Turbo that affected everything else. If he can just find the connection between Turbo's blue glitching and red glitching -

"Attention," an indiscernible male voice says. "The arcade is now closed."

Surge groans. It's his job after hours to make sure things run smoothly, to prevent any more Turbo incidents. But with every new blinking light, he's been staying more and more within his archiving code, trying to connect the pieces together. He's just going to stay here today and hope (again) that no one takes advantage of his absence.

* * *

"Are you guys ready?" Vanellope asks.

Everybody's in their karts, including her dad. "Yeah!" they cheer.

"Then let the Random Roster Race start!" She pulls a cord and slides down a purple Fruit Roll-up slide into her own kart as the countdown begins. The light turns green, and everyone takes off. The race goes on as normal - until they come to Gumball Gorge.

Vanellope sees a sugar cube power-up down the road at the same time someone cheers, "Faster! Faster!" Vivid images appear in front of her: a dark night, colors swirling beneath her, a cy-bug underneath...

"Gyah!" Distracted, she slams on the brakes.

CRASH!

Vanellope protects her head as her kart flips a couple of times before landing on its side, smoke curling up from the engine. She coughs away some of the smoke as she crawls out of the wreckage. Looking herself over, she finds only a couple of bruises and scrapes. Mostly she's just shaken up from the kart wreck.

_Wait a minute._ She anxiously tugs on the string around her neck until a pie-shaped necklace comes out from under her sweatshirt. The necklace isn't damaged at all. She exhales deeply in relief, smiling a bit at the sloppily-written letters. _Aw, Ralph_, she thinks.

A groan.

The president looks over at the kart she crashed into and tucks her necklace away before hurrying over to help the racer out. "Are you okay, Swizzle?" she asks.

Since his kart landed upside-down, he's on the ground directly under his seat. "That was totally wicked!" he says, before moaning in pain.

Vanellope steps forward and grabs his arms. "_You_," she says, emphasizing her words as she yanks him backwards, "are the _cra_ziest _dare_devil I _know_." With one last pull, Swizzle is dragged out of the crashed kart.

Before he can remark, they hear someone call, "Are you guys okay?"

They carefully turn their heads to see Sticky Wipplesnit pulling over to the side of the gorge. She always was the most caring racer. "I'm fine," Vanellope says - but then Swizzle hisses and winces, clutching his leg. "I don't know about Swizzle though."

Sticky hops out and dashes over, not worrying about the other karts, as they've already driven through the gorge. "Swizzle!" she says, sliding next to the lollipop-themed racer. "What happened to you?"

He moans, "I accidentally crashed into Vanellope's kart, and it smunched up my engine, crushing my leg." The girls look down at his leg - Sticky holds a hand to her mouth as she gags, and Vanellope makes a face in disgust: Swizzle's leg is broken and at a weird angle, and it's all bloody and bruised.

"We gotta get you fixed up," the president says. "Otherwise, you can't race in tomorrow's Roster Race."

Swizzle's eyes widen. "But I gotta race!"

"Not with a busted leg," she says, crossing her arms.

Sticky turns away from the ghastly sight and faces Vanellope. "How did you guys crash?" she asks. "I know Swizzle's a thrill-seeker, but he would never try a stunt like this during a Roster Race. And you're such a good driver."

Vanellope looks away. "I, uh, saw something that made me panic."

"Oh, dear." Sticky turns away and starts pacing.

Swizzle catches Vanellope's eye and mouths, "Was it those dreams?" For the past month, Vanellope's been having weird dreams, starting with a bizarre vision she had at Tapper's. Only her dad, Swizzle, and Citrusella know about the vision, and only they know she's been having recurring dreams around that vision.

Vanellope nods - but keeps her mouth shut, as sirens can be heard off in the distance. They grow louder and louder, and the three racers can see flashing lights grow brighter and brighter as the vehicles get closer and closer.

"Vanellope!" Candy cries, screeching to a stop near Sticky's kart. The ambulance, police, and other racers follow close behind. "Swizzle! What happened to you?"

"It's my fault, sir," Swizzle lies, Sticky and Vanellope staring at him. "I was trying a new trick, but it went wrong, and I crashed into Vanellope's kart."

"Are you okay, Your Presidency?" Citrusella asks, rushing forward to help her friends.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she says. But then she whispers, with a small eye-roll, to Citrusella, "It's those crummy dreams again."

The indigo-colored racer nods in understanding.

Wynnchel and Duncan dismount their motorbikes and come over to lift Swizzle up and carry him to the ambulance. As they do so, they say, "Your reckless driving was bound to get you in trouble one of these days."

_"Wreck"-less?_ Vanellope thinks. _Ralph and Felix! They can fix Swizzle's leg up in no time!_ "Hey, Dad," she says, spinning in his direction, "can I go see Ralph and Felix and ask them for help?"

Candy frowns. This is not how he was planning to spend after-hours with his daughter. Again. "Vanellope, my dear, you were just in an accident. Why don't you rest and let one of the others get them?"

The president crosses her arms and pouts.

"I agree," Citrusella says. "You should take it easy after what happened."

"...Fine," she says. Turning to the group, she clasps her hands behind her back and walks forward. "Alright, which one of you chumps wants ta get ol' Stinkbrain and Hammer-Time?"

"I'll do it!" Jubileena offers, holding her hand high and hopping a couple times.

"Great!" Before hopping into the purple-and-yellow kart, Vanellope turns to the donut cops and safety crew. "Take Swizzle to Sugar Palace to rest. Those of you who won the race, woo-hoo, congrats, and all that. Go enjoy yourselves!" Everyone hesitates for a moment, feeling awkward in such a serious situation, but after Candy drives off with his daughter, followed by the ambulance, the racers start to relax, heading back to the starting line.

* * *

Stephen Sparks, the "old kook," looks down at the portal device in his hands. He can use it now, can activate it and go home. He can warn everyone about the looming danger. He can set things right.

No, he shouldn't. Not with the other device still on this side. True, it's in pieces, but that doesn't mean it can't still operate. That's how they were built, the commander said so, in case a device got damaged but the people still needed to get away. Besides, instead of just warning the people about the danger, he should try to stop it. Given, he's tried once before and failed, but he can try again. He must try again.

But this time, he'll be prepared. He thinks about the little blonde girl at the arcade. Though he doesn't know her very well, he has a good feeling about her, and other than that "boss" his feeling's always been right. He doesn't know how much she knows about those games - but no matter what, she has an advantage he never had.

He looks down at the portal device in his hands. "It's time," he says, "for a new protector to rise."

**A/N: At long last, the chapter's finished! Took forever to get the edits done! *wipes forehead***

**For the record, I don't have any grudge against "boring clubs," as Hannah calls them. I was part of an honor society myself. I just wanted to set up a contrast between game-loving Hannah and her busy-body parents. And thanks for the reviews everyone! :) I'm glad you all like it a lot! I do have a question for you guys: what should Hannah's last name be? I have a working name, but I'm not sure if I wanna use it for the final cut. It won't appear for another couple chapters, so if you have any ideas, leave them in comments or PM me. Thanks!**

**Last chapter's phrase was "For the First Time in Forever." Congrats to BlackRose56 for being the first one to guess this right! :) This chapter's phrase has to do with MC Hammer. Good luck!**


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